BICS is expanding its coverage of NB-IoT connectivity in collaboration with French mobile operator, SFR. This will bolster BICS’ ability to directly embed 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT and LTE-M/Cat-M1 connectivity in the devices of OEMs and IoT players via BICS’ SIM for Things IoT global solution.
SFR is France’s second-largest communications services company, serving 23 million customers. It owns the country’s first optical fiber network (FTTH / FTTB), which has around 20 million eligible FTTx connections, covers 99.5% of the population with its 4G network and has launched 5G.
BICS’ network already provides a global solution for IoT devices, utilising 2G, 3G, and 4G connectivity from more than 700 mobile operator partners. It has also developed a large NB-IoT/LTE-M network which currently covers more than 30 countries. Using its eSIM solution, manufacturers can easily embed connectivity and switch networks according to quality and coverage needs.
BICS says the introduction of NB-IoT/LTE-M connectivity will benefit a host of IoT applications because it uses less power, reduces maintenance costs and minimises battery sizes – thus making connectivity to a wider range of connected devices possible. Embedding connectivity directly into these devices speeds up their physical deployment and builds in flexibility to tailor connectivity to each use case.
VP Mobility & IoT
“We’re leveraging our leading position in the market to provide greater choice and flexibility to the global IoT industry,” said BICS’ Mikaël Schachne. “By capitalising on our relationships with mobile operators around the world, BICS is uniquely placed to provide companies global 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity to make IoT deployment simple, reliable, flexible and cost effective.”
In 2020 BICS enhanced its IoT offering, launching a partnership with Avnet Silica to accelerate global IoT deployment and establish new use cases based on NB-IoT/LTE-M connectivity.